Allison Washington
Aug 23, 2017 · 1 min read

Thank you, Thomas. I have been very pissed-off in re the recent restriction of access to pain medication. Many doctors are simply no longer prescribing opioids at all, no matter what. If I need a week’s worth of oxycodone for an acute problem, I now need to go to a psychiatrist or pain clinic? WTF.

30 years ago I was under-medicated following major surgery and subjected to excruciating and prolonged pain. (Imagine, following major abdominal surgery, having your morphine discontinued after 24 hours and being given Tylenol and left to scream. This is literally what happened.)

This set up an entrenched pain cycle that resulted in chronic pain for over a year, and exacerbated preexisting PTSD which now refocussed to include medicine.

The result is a created fear of medical procedures, great difficulty accessing medical services, and a crippling mistrust of practitioners. I have spent decades trying to get over this. The new added barriers to access for simple pain medication for an occasional back problem is not helping my outlook.

Thank you for writing,

❤ Allison

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Allison Washington

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Journalist & essayist. Reporting from Cairo.